Navy rallies from 15 down to sweep Lafayette

EASTON, Pa. – Senior guard Tilman Dunbar scored 21 points with six assists as Navy (18-9, 9-5 PL) rallied for a 74-68 win at Lafayette (5-20, 2-12 PL) on Saturday afternoon at Kirby Sports Center. The Mids trailed by 15 points in the first half but fought back for their 11th road win of the season.

“It wasn’t a good start but it was a great ending for us,” said head coach Ed DeChellis. “Our kids played with a lot of grit and determination. We didn’t play well offensively or defensively early, but we hung in there.

“Bryce Dulin gave us a huge lift off the bench in the first half and we were able to cut it to five at halftime. In the second half, our guys stepped up defensively. We got some steals and some big rebounds and the game was won for us on the defensive end.”

Navy’s 15-point comeback was its largest of the season and the largest since also coming back from 15 down in a win at Colgate on Feb. 14, 2015.

Dunbar, playing in his 100th career game, became the fourth Midshipmen to amass career totals of 1,000 points and 400 assists. The senior currently has 1,007 points and 401 assists. Dunbar scored in double figures for the seventh straight game.

Senior Will Kelly posted his third double-double of the season with 12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots while sophomore Shawn Anderson added 10 points and five rebounds.

Lafayette opened the game with a barrage of 3-pointers, knocking down six triples in a span of five minutes to expand a 6-3 lead to 24-10 midway through the first half. Navy was able to stay in the game due to the play of sophomore Bryce Dulin, who came off the bench to hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions.

Zach Rufer hit a jumper to put the Leopards ahead by 15 at 34-19 with 6:24 left in the opening half, but Navy was able to close the period on an 11-1 run to cut the halftime margin to 35-30. Dunbar hit a jumper and then converted a three-point play during the spurt and then Navy got two more buckets from Jace Hogan and Dulin. Tom Lacey made two free throws in the final minute to cut the halftime margin to five points.

Dulin scored nine points in the first half.

Senior Kendall Knorr’s second 3-pointer of the game early in the second half cut the margin to four, but Lafayette was able to extend its lead to eight points after Rufer made a layup for a 45-37 lead. Anderson converted an and one before a triple by Lafayette’s Monty Boykins, but Navy’s Tim Abruzzo answered right back with a 3-pointer of his own.

Following two free throws by Lafayette’s Matt Klinewski to push the hosts lead to 50-43 with 13:34 remaining, Navy reeled off an 8-0 run to take its first lead of the game.

The run started with a jumper from Hogan and then Kelly made both ends of a one-and-one free throw opportunity. Dunbar scored a layup to cut the margin to one and then Abruzzo got a steal on the defensive end and hit a jumper while falling out of bounds on the baseline to put Navy ahead at 51-50.

The two teams started to go back-and-forth for the next four minutes as Dunbar hit a 3-pointer to put the Mids ahead and then made another layup before Anderson connected on a 3-pointer to give Navy a four-point lead at 62-58.

Klinewski answered with a jumper for Lafayette, Anderson made a layup for Navy and then Nick Lindner made a long jumper to cut the lead to two points with 2:40 left. Kelly made one of two free throws on the next trip and then Kelly got an offensive rebound and a layup right at the rim to put Navy up five at 67-62 with 48 seconds left on a critical possession.

Dunbar then made 5-of-6 free throws in a 20-second span and Kelly made two free throws with 12 seconds left to seal the 74-68 win.

Navy’s comeback was boosted by its perimeter defense in the second half. Lafayette was 7-of-14 on 3-pointers in the first half but just 2-of-9 in the final 20 minutes.

Navy outshot Lafayette from the field, 48 percent to 42 percent, and knocked down 8-of-16 3-pointers. Navy also held a 39-29 edge in rebounding.

Rufer led Lafayette with 15 points while Lindner had 13 and Bryce Scott added 12. Lafayette, the reigning Patriot League Tournament Champion, has lost nine straight games.

Navy swept the season series over Lafayette for the first time since 2007. Navy defeated Lafayette in Annapolis, 87-61, on Jan. 16.

Navy is tied with Boston U. for second place in the Patriot League at 9-5, one game behind first-place Bucknell (10-4). With four league games remaining, Navy has already surpassed last season’s conference win total (8-10).

Navy extended its single-season road win record as the Mids are currently 11-2 in true road games. Monmouth (12-4) is the only team in the NCAA that has won more road games than Navy has this season.

Navy will next host Lehigh (10-14, 8-5 PL) on Wednesday evening. Lehigh will host Holy Cross on Monday evening before traveling to Annapolis.

OTHER GAMES IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE

BALTIMORE, Md. – Highlighted by junior Eric Fanning’s second-career double-double and a perfect performance at the charity stripe, the Boston University men’s basketball team earned a 73-65 win at Loyola Maryland on Saturday afternoon. READ MORE. 

Ironically, the same person who led the Raiders during that earlier contest was the man of the game on Saturday as well. SophomoreTom Rivard went for a career-best 24 points after going nearly perfect on the day. He was 10-for-12 from the floor, 2-for-3 from behind-the-arc and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. In his 30 minutes of action, he compiled four rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal as well. READ MORE.

Kevin Ferguson‘s double-double of 20 points and 14 rebounds paved the way for Army as it won its second straight game and swept the season series against American. The triumph improved Army to 6-8 in Patriot League play and 15-11 on the season. READ MORE.